Wolf
by Light1
Summary: Dracula teaches his son about the beast within him but when he calls it forward will Alucard be lost to it?


**Wolf**

Disclaimer: Castlevania belongs to konami not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic, it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Alucard . . . then he'd be mine.

Rating: PG-13

Part: one of one

Authoress note:

_Italics = thoughts and flashbacks_

The moon had fully risen when Adrian threw himself out of the bed. Swearing and tripping over himself he crashed around the room looking for his clothes. He found his trousers half hidden under the bed and pulled them on. He tugged a shirt on forgoing fastening the buttons before spinning on the spot looking for his boots. He found them in the far corner and forcing one on he hopped towards the door while trying to don its twin. With a shout of dismay he fell, hitting the floor hard, his chin struck the rug covered stones hard enough to crack one of his teeth. He spat blood onto the rug and scrambled to his feet, pulling his boot on properly before bolting to the door.

He tore through the castle, his open shirt catching the breeze. He took the tower steps three at a time and almost pulled the door from it's moorings in his haste to open it. The tower was empty. Adrain pulled the window open and scrambled out onto the rooftop, small claws biting into the stones as he pulled himself onto the tiled roof. Once on the rooftop he stilled and scanned the view. The dark forest was calm, and its residents roamed at ease. Not spotting his quarry Adrian let out a sigh of relief and settled down to wait, absently doing up his shirt.

The moon roamed across the night sky without a thought for the half blood's impatience. Adrian waited fitfully, tugging at the roof tiles and flicking small stones off the edge of the tower's top. He jumped to his feet more than once during his vigil -each time something moved towards the castle- only to sit down with a groan each time it proved to be not what he sought. By the time the black wolf leapt the moat surrounding the castle Adrian was close to screaming with impatience and frustration.

The black wolf leapt the massive moat so easily that it seemed to fly. Adrian leapt to his own feet and grinned. He glanced at the tower window and frowned. He could return inside and run down the many flights of stairs and through the many hallways to the ground, but there was a faster way. He smirked and walked to the edge of the rooftop, his heart hammering in his chest he tipped himself over the edge.

He tumbled down through the air at amazing speeds, wind rushing and roaring around him. His hair whipped into his face before being pulled out behind him. The ground rushed forward and he twisted in the air, putting his feet under him. He landed with a tremendous thump. The ground beneath him taking and absorbing the force of his fall, Adrian felt it vibrate up his legs and watched as the paving cracked. Not waiting he glanced around and span on the spot looking for the wolf. It sat waiting for him with a sour expression.

"Don't look so." Adrian mumbled. "It is the closest to true flight that I can come to at this time."

"That," the wolf barked. "Had nothing to do with flight. It was falling and one day you will fall too far." The wolf stood and shook its shaggy head.

"Not if I have wings." Adrian said to the beast. He walked forward and went to his knees, putting the massive wolf's head above his own. "Not when you give me wings." The wolf let out a chuff of breath and ran its nose over Adrian's head.

"You already have wings I told you this before." The wolf said, resigned. "Why so eager to give me a heart attack."

"You promised." Adrain smiled at the wolf and the beast went very still, Adrain waited while it thought back into its memory of the last few nights.

"I did, didn't I?" The beast growled. "You will hold me to this promise." It was not a question but Adrian nodded anyway. The wolf growled louder but Adrian was not fazed. Giving up the wolf shivered the movement exadurated and chilling. It continued to shake for a few seconds before it became encased in sudden mist. A man walked from the mist only a moment after the wolf was consumed.

Dracula looked to his child sitting on the floor, his eyes wide, and his whole body trembling with barely contained excitement. The vampire king snorted and ran his fingers through tangled blonde hair.

"You didn't even comb your hair this evening did you?" Adrian shook his head and Dracula couldn't help but smile. "You will be the death of me, spoiled chid." Dracula turned to the main entrance of the castle and started to walk; Adrian scrambled to his feet and followed.

"What if..." Adrian started but stopped the words sticking in his throat. Dracula glanced down at the man beside him.

"You are so eager yet you are afraid." He frowned. Adrian said nothing. "I am happy to wait if you do not wish to continue." Adrian shook his head rapidly.

"No I want to, but I am a little worried." He shuffled on his feet. Dracula looked down at him and frowned. Adrian crumbled under the look. "What if I'm not strong enough?" Adrian asked. "Will my body simply do nothing or will I..." he swallowed hard "Can I get stuck in-between, like Aboraxus?" Dracula stopped walked and lifted an eyebrow. Adrian was keen to do this, his son had barely given him a moment's peace since his off hand comment that Adrian should be old enough to morph by now. His sudden fear was unsettling.

"Why the sudden fear?" Dracula asked. "You were bouncing a moment ago."

"I was not bouncing." Adrian muttered looking offended. Dracula laughed.

"Yes you were, you bounced right off the tower top." He reached forward and put his claw tipped hand on his child's shoulder.

"I did not bounce." Adrian frowned at his father. "And I do want this, I want to fly, to run faster than I can now but, what you did to him, it was a nightmare." He shivered at the memory.

"Aboraxus was not a creature made to shift." Dracula sighed. "I forced a shift on him because I knew he would not be able to finish it himself. It was a punishment Adrian, you saw what he did." Adrain nodded.

"I did." He whispered. They walked into the castle, the creatures milling around the hallways looked up at them as they entered and dipped their heads as they passed.

"That cannot happen to you. Have you ever heard of a werewolf getting stuck between?" Adrian shook his head "No, it simply does not happen. Your body is designed to do this the way it is designed to breathe."

"But I can be stopped from breathing were someone to make a truly determined effort." Adrian mumbled. Dracula rolled his eyes.

"Fine then, think of changing your form more like a sneeze." He grinned at the image that made in his mind. "It's unconscious and fast. I do not think about all the little changes my body must do for me to grow fur or wings, it is automatic, something my body simply does and once I start it it does not stop till it is finished regardless of my strength at the time of change."

"Like a sneeze." Adrian snorted but the fear was fading from his eyes. "I like that, it sounds simple."

"If you wish to delay I would have no argument." Dracula pressed leading his child into one of the empty halls. The room was long with a high ceiling, no creatures wandered through, the room had been cleared.

"No." Adrian snapped "I told you I want to and you promised to show me how." Dracula rolled his eyes.

"I will." he agreed, "But only because I promised and I only promised because listening to you whine is worse than listening to the banshees."

"I doubt that." Adrian muttered. The half blood was well aware of his father's soft spot for him. He knew all to well that he could get away with unthinkable things when it came down to his father and at times he exploited it. He shivered feeling a little ball of excitement form in his stomach and wind its way into his blood, spreading through him.

"You're bouncing again." Dracula smirked. Adrian ignored him; he didn't care if he was bouncing like a child. He wanted this; he wanted to be able to flitter above the forest and look down, to be able to run through the trees faster than any other creature, to feel his heart hammer in his chest as he ran. The power in a vampire's wolf form was legendary, the weight of the beast, it's strength and speed, it was an unstoppable force. He wanted to be a wolf more than he wanted to fly.

"Make me a wolf." He looked at his father and put what he hoped would be the right about if plead into his voice. His words came out a purr and Dracula smiled at him.

"Very well." The vampire king nodded. "My son you shall be Wolf." Dracula held out his hand and Adrain walked forward to take it. "The change is something difficult to put into words but I will try for you. Then I will show you."

"Yes." Adrian nodded. Dracula was quiet for a few moments, his expression one of deep thought. Adrain fidgeted, unable to keep still, his blood rushed with the thought of what he was about to learn.

"You need to picture it." Dracula started. "See the wolf in your mind, not a generic wolf, but your wolf."

"How am I meant to know what I look like as a wolf?" Adrian frowned.

"Your body knows, it knows already. Find that knowledge inside yourself." Dracula pressed. Adrian looked at him blankly, Dracula sighed. "Close your eyes." He commanded and put his hands on Adrian's shoulders. Adrian obeyed.

"I feel foolish." Adrain muttered, Dracula hissed at him.

"Imagine running through the darkest part of the forest, faster than you've ever been before. Low to the ground, the taller grasses hitting your face, the ground smells damp, rich and cold." Dracula stopped for a moment and gave Adrian a chance to get the picture in his mind.

"You can feel the ground under your feet, under your claws, feel it shifting and crumbling as you run." Adrian's brow creased in concentration, Dracula smiled. "Look down, look at your claws." He felt Adrian tense under his hands and smiled wider. Adrian's eyes shot open, his mouth opened to speak but he didn't make a noise.

"You saw yourself?" Dracula asked Adrian nodded.

"I was grey." Adrian's expression changed from confusion to surprised joy. "My wolf is grey."

"You managed that a-lot faster than I thought you would." Dracula smiled at the warm feeling of pride curling in his stomach. His son may only be half vampire but he had strength of will that Dracula had only ever seen in his Lisa. No one would ever doubt Adrian's strength. Adrian blushed under the praise and Dracula felt his mouth water at the site of blood close to the surface. Absently he made a note to hunt later.

"Father?" Adrian frowned; Dracula ran fingers down the side of his son's face.

"It's nothing my child." He coughed clearing his throat. "When you change you need to see your wolf and push yourself into it." Dracula explained. Adrian frowned harder and Dracula shrugged. "It is difficult to put into words but I can show you and once you've done it once it is simple to repeat."

"You can show me?" Adrian asked. "But I have seen you change before." Dracula shook his head.

"That's not what I mean child. No, I am linked to you, we are connected you know this." Adrain nodded, he knew the connection. It was something indescribable, maintained by blood which was shared occasionally in order to keep the connection strong. It allowed them to find each other when separated, on occasion to feel what the other felt and sometimes if it was allowed they could influence each other. Dracula meant to use the connection to trigger a change. Adrian shivered, his body trembling and his throat dry.

"Alright." He whispered and concentrated on pulling down his mental walls, they were a defence his father had taught him when young. A block to prevent the psychic demons in the castle from affecting him. Those blocks could also prevent his father from influencing him unknowingly.

Adrian pulled them down and instantly felt a mental touch. It was warm and welcome in his mind, and instantly recognisable. Dracula made a low purring sound as he felt Adrian's surrender and dipped in further to his child's subconscious. Adrian's mind was a deceptive place, calm on the surface but turbulent beneath. His duel nature was prominent here; human and vampire instincts warred with each other for dominance. Dracula was pleased to see it was only Adrian's subconscious that was like this, if his internal struggle ever became a conscious one Dracula knew he would have to take steps. Steps to turn his child fully. He did not wish to do so unless absolutely necessary, Adrian was too much like Lisa and turning him risked losing that.

Dracula pushed through the warring instincts and delved into the vampire part of Adrian's subconscious. It was here his powers lay and here where he would find the place to trigger the change. He moved smoothly through his Childs mind, all the while aware of his own physical body and his child's now leaning against him. Mental gymnastics always exhausted Adrian. He felt his physical hands move to run through his son's hair in a comforting way at the same time as his mental self found the Wolf in Adrian. He stopped a moment to feel the Wolf before pulling it to the forefront of his Childs mind. He pulled out himself as the Wolf surged forwards and smiled when Adrian opened his eyes and blinked at him.

"Nothing's happening." he said. Dracula smiled as Adrian's eyes went wide, fear flashed across his face like lightening and for a moment Dracula tightened his grip on his child before letting him fall to the ground as the change took hold.

It was fast and impossible to follow with the eye. One moment a man collapsed to the floor then a wolf was rising to its feet. Adrian was grey as he had said he would be. Dracula knelt down to better see the creature before him. It was scrawny for a wolf and long limbed. Its fur was multi toned and beautiful, it put Dracula in mind of storm clouds on a grey sky. All grey but all different and all wondrous. Power and noise.

The Wolf watched back and Dracula waited for the Wolf to fade from the golden eyes and for Adrian to come forward. The change was not just purely physical, it was instinctual as well. With the Wolf's form came its instincts and it always took a few moments during the first change for the vampire to dominate the Wolf.

"Adrian." Dracula said after a few moments. The grey Wolf looked at him and snorted, clearing the air from its nostrils. Dracula waited and the Wolf snarled at him, a warning to stay away. The growl was short lived and the Wolf turned away, wander off down the Hall. Dracula followed at a distance, keeping an eye on his son, waiting for him to overcome his sudden new instincts. He flinched when the Wolf threw itself at the door and forced it open, before wandering calmly into the corridor. Following he frowned, it was taking Adrian too long.

"Adrian." he called stepping out into the corridor to see it empty. He swore profusely and sniffed at the air, following the scent of Wolf. A sharp cry brought him running and he almost tripped over one of the castle's werewolves. The creature had a broken bleeding arm. The werewolf clambered to its feet when it saw him and tried to act as if its injury did not pain it. "Grey wolf?" Dracula asked

"I thought it was an infant warg my Lord." The werewolf admitted. "I attempted to shoo it towards the Warg den and was corrected for my foolishness."

"Adrian would not have bit you."Dracula pulled his hand down his face. The werewolf's eyes widened.

"The young master?" it asked, Dracula did not reply. "He makes a fine wolf my Lord."

"He would if he could control it." Dracula muttered and headed off still following the scent of Wolf. "Foolish child." he grumbled. "Where is your strength of will now?"

He found the Wolf in the orchards; it was stalking one of the smaller demons. A creature more plant than animal. For a moment he watched, unable to deny that it was wondrous to watch. The Wolf crouched low in the brush, waiting, eyes fixed on the demon, it shuffled forward, gaining ground on the demon until it exploded upwards in a rush of fur, claws and teeth. Its jaws snapped on the demon killing the creature before it had time to realise what had happened. The Wolf looked up at him, ears erect, tail lashing out behind it, the demon's pale blue blood covering its muzzle; it grinned as only a wolf can and lifted its prize.

"Yes well done." Dracula muttered. "Please don't decimate the inhabitants." he watched as the wolf dropped its catch and snapped it up in two mouthfuls. "Adrian, are you in there yet?"The Wolf said nothing, it glanced up at him. "If you don't get control I'll pull you back and I doubt you will like it." The Wolf ignored him and glanced around before padding off in the direction of the lakes. Dracula cursed again and followed.

"I should hire you a bloody nursemaid." He grumbled following the beast. The grey Wolf padded around the lake, seemingly happy to ignore him in favour of exploring its surroundings.

"I will do it Adrian." Dracula called. "I'm not playing." The Wolf looked up and him and yipped, the first sound it had made. It lowered its front, long front legs flat on the ground, it's backside up and jaws open. Dracula frowned, so the creature had understood the word play, perhaps something of his son was rising up.

"No." He called out across the water. "I am not bloody playing, fool child." The Wolf, leapt at him but did not connect, it was to far a way for one thing. It scampered backwards, as if expecting him to give chase. Dracula sat down heavily making it clear he wasn't playing. While it was amusing to watch Adrian make a fool out of himself as a wolf, it was dangerous. He had only ever seen it once before but he knew if Adrian couldn't find himself, couldn't dominate the Wolf quickly then the Wolf would remain in control and Adrian would be lost. Adrian would need to surface and surface quickly, the longer the Wolf remained in control the harder it would be to dislodge it.

The Wolf hunkered down and Dracula purposely turned his back to it. If the damned creature wanted to play then it could be used to his advantage. Better have the Wolf come to him than him chase it all over the grounds. He heard the grass move close behind him and smirked. He listened to the Wolf creeping behind him and waited until the sound of movement stopped. He tensed waiting for the wolf to leap. The sound of the dirt moving gave it away and Dracula turned as the Wolf leapt. His claws dug into the Wolf's ruff and saddle twisting the beast as it yipped in surprise.

"I told you, I am not playing." Dracula rolled and put the wolf beneath him. The Wolf realising that it was not a game struggled and bucked beneath him but even strong as it was it was not a match for Dracula and he forced it down easily.

"I'm giving you one last chance." Dracula snarled. "Then I will force you back and you will not like it," still the Wolf struggled.

Dracula sighed and dipped into his child's mind. He was hit with an overwhelming instinct of Wolf. He pushed through it and broke through to the mind of his child struggling beneath. Adrian was still there, but he was panicked and forced down by the Wolf. Dracula pressed against him and felt his child calm under his touch. He reached back and touched the wolf ready to force the beast down. But he stopped, if he forced the Wolf down the beast would resent him and Adrian would be forever afraid of the beast inside him. He didn't want that, he knew how Adrian had longed to be Wolf, to run through the forest on four legs not two. So instead of pushing the Wolf down he encouraged his child to come up. Pulling his son up he released him and let him take over on his own.

Holding the struggling beast down under his body Dracula waited.

"Please child, please don't make me cripple your Wolf."

"Father." The Wolf said softly.

"Well done child."Dracula smiled.


End file.
